Israel To Enhance Agriculture In India, Israeli Model To Help Bundelkhand Tackle Water Crisis

Amid these domestic politics, India’s strategic partner Israel is set to develop 30 Indian villages into ideal agricultural villages, offering to increase farm productivity and increase the farmers' income.

(Representative Image/Getty)

 New Delhi: There has been a lot of politics in the country following the month-long tussle over the new agriculture laws and the government’s promise to increase the farmers’ income.

Amid these domestic politics, India’s strategic partner Israel is set to develop 30 Indian villages into ideal agricultural villages, offering to increase farm productivity and increase the farmers' income. Besides, Israel has also proposed to provide its technology and remedies to overcome the crisis in Bundelkhand, which has been facing water shortage for years.

The Government of Israel has signed an agreement to convert 75 villages in India into model agricultural villages in the next three years under the MASHAV programme. As part of this, a model will be prepared to make villages more productive and self-sufficient in terms of agriculture in different areas of the country, which will be possible to copy at other places as well.

Dan Alluf, Counsellor, MASHAV India, said Israel has now decided to create a Village of Excellence, adding to the strong agricultural partnership between the two countries. Under this, ideal villages will be developed for crop production in many parts of India between 2021 and 2023. This will include 30 villages in Haryana and five villages in Uttar Pradesh.

Alluf said the emphasis in each of these model villages will be on strengthening agricultural infrastructure, capacity expansion and direct access to markets. This will bring in a system for more agricultural production, from market linkage to processing, which will increase the farmers’ income. Through these, a traditional farm will be made into an active farming area where higher production will be possible using various methods. Along with this, the entire value chain associated with it will also be ready.

What’s important is that Israel has been building a center of excellence in the agriculture sector in India for the past decade and a half. There is a special emphasis on improving the production of vegetables and fruits and sharing the experiences of Israel. Alluf, who has been overseeing MASHAV operations in India for the past seven years, said that 3.60 lakh farmers have been trained in 30 Israeli centers of excellence operating in India between 2018 and 2020.

The Israeli agricultural cooperation with India is not just limited to agricultural production-enhancing techniques. Rather, Israel has been India's ally for a long time in terms of better use of water technologies. Israeli drip irrigation technology is used in every nook and corner of the country these days. In such a situation, Israel has now extended a helping hand to Bundelkhand, the area facing ​​water-crisis since long.

Alluf, who is preparing to return to Israel after completing his tenure in India, told the media that Israeli technology will be used to save and better use water in the Bundelkhand region. Alluf said Israel has a lot to share with India in terms of water use because the Israeli settlements reuse water extensively and rely very little on extracting water from natural sources.

Under this project run with Israel’s help, measures are to be taken in Bundelkhand for water conservation, better water use methods and improved methods of water use in agriculture. According to Alluf, the emphasis will be on better utilization along with the accumulation and conservation of rain water in Bundelkhand. Also, hydraulic technology used to transport and use water in Israel can also be a good solution for Bundelkhand.

“We will use it there as well. Along with this, drip irrigation and smart irrigation will also be used,” he added.

An Israeli company will soon prepare a pilot model along with feasibility study in Bundelkhand area.